The devatā Ghaṭikara:
“Seven bhikkhus reborn in Aviha
Have been fully liberated.
With lust and hatred utterly destroyed,
They have crossed over attachment to the world.”
The Blessed One:
“And who are those who crossed the swamp,
The realm of Death so hard to cross?
Who, having left the human body,
Have overcome the celestial bond?”
Ghaṭikara:
“Upaka and Palagaṇḍa,
With Pukkusati—these are three.
Then Bhaddiya and Bhaddadeva,
And Bahudanti and Piṅgiya.
These, having left the human body,
Have overcome the celestial bond.”
The Blessed One:
“Good is the word you speak of them,
Of those who have abandoned Mara’s snares.
Whose Dhamma was it that they understood
Whereby they cut through the bondage of existence?”
Ghaṭikara:
“It was not apart from the Blessed One!
It was not apart from your Teaching!
By having understood your Dhamma
They cut through the bondage of existence.“Where name-and-form ceases,
Stops without remainder:
By understanding that Dhamma here
They cut through the bondage of existence.”
The Blessed One:
“Deep is the speech you utter,
Hard to understand, very hard to grasp.
Having understood whose Dhamma
Do you utter such speech?”
Ghaṭikara:
“In the past I was the potter,
Ghaṭikara in Vehaḷiṅga.
I supported my mother and father then
As a lay follower of the Buddha Kassapa.“I abstained from sexual intercourse,
I was celibate, free from carnal ties.
I was your fellow villager,
In the past I was your friend.“I am the one who knows
These seven liberated bhikkhus,
Who with lust and hatred utterly destroyed
Have crossed over attachment to the world.”
The Blessed One:
“Just so it was at that time,
As you say, O Bhaggava:
In the past you were the potter,
Ghaṭikara in Vehaḷiṅga.
You supported your mother and father then
As a lay follower of the Buddha Kassapa.“You abstained from sexual intercourse,
You were celibate, free from carnal ties.
You were my fellow villager,
In the past you were my friend.”Such was the meeting that took place
Between those friends from the past,
Both now inwardly developed,
Bearers of their final bodies.